President Donald Trump will address both chambers of Congress on Feb. 24 in what will be his first State of the Union since beginning his second term.
Unlike that speech, the State of the Union address is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Presidents have historically used the occasion to speak on the top issues of the day, their appraisal of the state of the United States, their plans for the future, and legislative requests.
The address, on the year of the United States’ 250th anniversary, comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remains shut down, reflecting a larger national debate over the administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown.
A growing list of Democrats is vowing to skip the speech in favor of alternative events.
Where to Watch
The State of the Union address will be easily accessible through a variety of platforms.
Like all other official activities on the floor of Congress, the address will be streamed on C-SPAN.
The White House will provide a livestream of the event on its website and on YouTube.
What Is the State of the Union?
The State of the Union is an annual message mandated by Article II, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution in which the president reports to Congress on the nation’s current condition and lays out his legislative priorities.He will also likely highlight reductions in immigration flows at the southern border with Mexico. Trump has previously boasted that illegal immigration along that border has reached near-zero levels.
The address is also considered a prime opportunity for the president to lay out his legislative proposals.
Attendees
Attendees have historically included the entire U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Multiple Democrats have vowed to boycott the event to attend competing programming.The event is attended by almost all officials in the presidential line of succession—including, this year, Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate President pro tempore Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and most U.S. Cabinet secretaries—it’s considered a national special security event.
To ensure presidential succession in the event of a catastrophe, a Cabinet official in the line of succession—the “designated survivor”—will be taken to a secure location until the address wraps up.
Their identity is usually disclosed around the time the address begins.
Officials in the line of succession expected to attend include State Secretary Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Housing Secretary Scott Turner, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Guests
The president and members of Congress are permitted to invite guests to attend the event.This year, Trump has invited the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Olympic Hockey teams to attend the event as his special guests following their gold medal victories over Canada.
Democrats’ Boycott
A growing list of Democrats has announced plans to skip the event entirely this year in favor of an event dubbed a “People’s State of the Union.”Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is among those skipping the speech in favor of the nearby counter-programming event.
Democrats’ Response
Historically, the out-of-power party has delivered a response to the State of the Union delivered by the president.This year, Democrats’ response will be delivered by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
The response will take place immediately following the main address. It will be streamed by many of the platforms streaming the State of the Union address, including C-SPAN.
Spanberger, a former House lawmaker, became Virginia’s first female governor after winning a landslide election to the governor’s mansion last November.
